Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling etc.
Chapter 3
Sirius had been trailing Peter ever since he'd stepped out of the alleyway; Peter was not the only one who had a talent for concealing himself. Although Peter was walking quickly, Sirius never lost his trail once. Even without being able to see him, he could still sense him – pure animal instinct.
After a while, Sirius noticed that the crowds of people were thinning and it was then that he saw where Peter was leading him – down a street that was shut off at the end. A dead end. There could be two reasons for this, reasoned Sirius, either he's leading me into a trap, or he's in such a panic that he's forgotten where he's going. Knowing Peter, it was probably the latter.
Sirius hung back as he saw Peter steal a glance over his shoulder and then hurry on again, faster now. Sirius advanced cautiously, moving stealthily as he had done so many times at Hogwarts; Peter had more to lose than he did and he definitely wasn't to be trusted.
Suddenly Peter halted abruptly, paused for second and turned round just as Sirius stepped forward. HE looked like a deer caught in the headlights – no. Not a deer, a rat; a rat who'd been caught in his own trap. Sirius smiled, he was going to enjoy this.
"Hello Worm. How are things?" He asked conversationally; a flicker of uncertainty passed across Peter's rapidly paling face. "Seen any old friends lately?"
Wormtail spun around on his heels, ready to run and found himself facing a very solid looking wall. Sirius' grin widened as the small man in front of him turned back to face him trembling. Sirius had him cornered, there was no escape now – except....
A vaguely familiar voice echoed in the depths of his mind: 'Beware of cornered animals, they're very dangerous. They're trapped and the only thing between them and freedom is you; and they don't care if you get hurt.'
Sirius saw Wormtail's hand reach for his wand the moment before his instinct told him to do the same, but even as he drew his own wand he heard Peter's plaintive cries, easily distinguishable above the clamor of the crowd.
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?" Peter's voice shrilled, tears running down his cheeks. Everyone in the vicinity was staring at them now, a few people started forward uncertainly. Then, for a fraction of a second, Peter's eyes darted to a point just behind him, to the right and Sirius, glancing down realised what the sneaky little git was about to do.
He dived at Wormtail, strings of curses issuing from his mouth as he did so but it was too late; behind him, the street exploded in clouds of black smoke, the hundreds of missed spells illuminating odd shapes amongst it. Sirius knew then that it was over, he knew Peter had won. But he didn't believe it; he couldn't believe it.
It was as Peter turned back to face Sirius that he noticed the grate and a plan sprang to life in his desperate mind. He didn't know if it would work, but it was his only chance; Sirius would never let him escape in one piece – Peter started, 'in one piece'...
All he needed was a few seconds, a few seconds in which Sirius was still unable to use magic. Judging on his past experiences, surprise was the best option he had and there was no time like the present.
Using reflexes even James would have been proud of had he not been dead, Peter pulled his wand from his pocket, careful to keep it out of sight of the watching muggles and yelled what was soon to become known as, though he did not know it as yet, his famous last words.
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?"
Tears of desperation ran down his cheeks, most probably adding to the 'distraught victim' effect. Just as Sirius raised his wand, Peter cast the most impressive spell he had ever managed to pull off. It certainly had the desired effect at any rate, thought Peter with the part of his mind that wasn't still reeling from shock at what he'd just done. The world in front of him exploded in clouds of billowing black smoke and before his common sense had time to object, he sliced off his index finger and dived towards the grate.
When he reached the bottom of the shaft he fell headfirst into murky, rank water and began to swim. He swam as fast as he could, never looking back, trying not to think about Sirius and Lily and James and all the innocent people he had just murdered. If he got far enough away, he could almost kid himself that none of it had ever happened. Almost.
As the smoke cleared, Sirius' form became slowly visible again. He was standing, wand arm outstretched, staring at the space where Peter had been. There were slight scorch marks on the wall where his futile spell attempts had hit.
Behind him, the sooty black smoke hadn't quite thinned yet but the damage was already evident. The street looked as though someone had tried to tear it apart at the seams; huge piles of rubble replaced what was previously a smooth tarmac road. Good luck to the ministry trying to explain this one Sirius thought dryly.
A small cry broke the eerie silence and the air gradually filled with the voices of screaming, crying people.
Sirius just stood there, not hearing the roar of noise behind him. His gaze fell on the black grate through which Peter, Sirius' only chance of survival, had led. On the ground near it was a finger, Peter's finger. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, thought Sirius bitterly. Not surprising really, it was theoretically impossible for anyone to be that thick.
Sirius smiled wearily, he was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of living. You spend all your life trying to stand up for what you believe is right, and no one cares. The ministry of magic were going to lock him up in Azkaban without a second thought and Peter, the lying, traitorous rat had escaped scot-free; and that my friend, said a little voice in his head, is life.
He saw a group of horrified looking wizards at the other end of the street, some of them were looking at him, the expressions on their faces were not very friendly to put it lightly. Sirius' smile broke into a low chuckle and then he was laughing like a mad man. He laughed at the irony of it all, because he was going to Azkaban, because he was going there for the one thing he had been avoiding all his life. He laughed because his mother would probably be proud of him now, he laughed because he'd hit rock bottom and was digging even further, he laughed because the world had thrown what it could at him and he was still standing and he laughed because, where he was going, laughter didn't exist and he wanted to remember this moment forever, he wouldn't let himself forget what happiness felt like. He couldn't, his sanity depended on it.
As the ministry officials lead him away, he looked unseeingly at street around him, the broken pavement, the shattered windows of the shops and the dead bodies of muggles who had got in the way; Peter's doing, it was all Peter's doing, but it was his fault. His insane laughter stopped for a moment; he should have stopped him, he'd let James and Lily down, he'd let Harry down - but at least Harry was safe. Peter couldn't do anything now, he was dead to the world, a human trapped inside a rat's body. He wouldn't be able to do any more harm, at least not yet.
As the officials tied his hand behind his back, he thought about Peter, down in the sewers with the rest of his kind and suddenly, the notion of Peter, scurrying about in human excrement with a missing toe, seemed incredibly funny and he started laughing again.
The officials looked at him as though he was mad; well, he thought humorously, soon, I will be.
Deep below muggle London, a rat sat in the dark sewer, nursing a maimed front paw. It flinched as squeakings and scufflings echoed menacingly in the endless shadow filled tunnels. Silently it stared in to the gloomy pungent depths of the passage way and then turned and slunk quietly away.
A/N - There is still at least one more chapter to go so keep reviewing please. Thanx.
Chapter 3
Sirius had been trailing Peter ever since he'd stepped out of the alleyway; Peter was not the only one who had a talent for concealing himself. Although Peter was walking quickly, Sirius never lost his trail once. Even without being able to see him, he could still sense him – pure animal instinct.
After a while, Sirius noticed that the crowds of people were thinning and it was then that he saw where Peter was leading him – down a street that was shut off at the end. A dead end. There could be two reasons for this, reasoned Sirius, either he's leading me into a trap, or he's in such a panic that he's forgotten where he's going. Knowing Peter, it was probably the latter.
Sirius hung back as he saw Peter steal a glance over his shoulder and then hurry on again, faster now. Sirius advanced cautiously, moving stealthily as he had done so many times at Hogwarts; Peter had more to lose than he did and he definitely wasn't to be trusted.
Suddenly Peter halted abruptly, paused for second and turned round just as Sirius stepped forward. HE looked like a deer caught in the headlights – no. Not a deer, a rat; a rat who'd been caught in his own trap. Sirius smiled, he was going to enjoy this.
"Hello Worm. How are things?" He asked conversationally; a flicker of uncertainty passed across Peter's rapidly paling face. "Seen any old friends lately?"
Wormtail spun around on his heels, ready to run and found himself facing a very solid looking wall. Sirius' grin widened as the small man in front of him turned back to face him trembling. Sirius had him cornered, there was no escape now – except....
A vaguely familiar voice echoed in the depths of his mind: 'Beware of cornered animals, they're very dangerous. They're trapped and the only thing between them and freedom is you; and they don't care if you get hurt.'
Sirius saw Wormtail's hand reach for his wand the moment before his instinct told him to do the same, but even as he drew his own wand he heard Peter's plaintive cries, easily distinguishable above the clamor of the crowd.
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?" Peter's voice shrilled, tears running down his cheeks. Everyone in the vicinity was staring at them now, a few people started forward uncertainly. Then, for a fraction of a second, Peter's eyes darted to a point just behind him, to the right and Sirius, glancing down realised what the sneaky little git was about to do.
He dived at Wormtail, strings of curses issuing from his mouth as he did so but it was too late; behind him, the street exploded in clouds of black smoke, the hundreds of missed spells illuminating odd shapes amongst it. Sirius knew then that it was over, he knew Peter had won. But he didn't believe it; he couldn't believe it.
It was as Peter turned back to face Sirius that he noticed the grate and a plan sprang to life in his desperate mind. He didn't know if it would work, but it was his only chance; Sirius would never let him escape in one piece – Peter started, 'in one piece'...
All he needed was a few seconds, a few seconds in which Sirius was still unable to use magic. Judging on his past experiences, surprise was the best option he had and there was no time like the present.
Using reflexes even James would have been proud of had he not been dead, Peter pulled his wand from his pocket, careful to keep it out of sight of the watching muggles and yelled what was soon to become known as, though he did not know it as yet, his famous last words.
"You betrayed them Sirius! Lily and James! How could you?"
Tears of desperation ran down his cheeks, most probably adding to the 'distraught victim' effect. Just as Sirius raised his wand, Peter cast the most impressive spell he had ever managed to pull off. It certainly had the desired effect at any rate, thought Peter with the part of his mind that wasn't still reeling from shock at what he'd just done. The world in front of him exploded in clouds of billowing black smoke and before his common sense had time to object, he sliced off his index finger and dived towards the grate.
When he reached the bottom of the shaft he fell headfirst into murky, rank water and began to swim. He swam as fast as he could, never looking back, trying not to think about Sirius and Lily and James and all the innocent people he had just murdered. If he got far enough away, he could almost kid himself that none of it had ever happened. Almost.
As the smoke cleared, Sirius' form became slowly visible again. He was standing, wand arm outstretched, staring at the space where Peter had been. There were slight scorch marks on the wall where his futile spell attempts had hit.
Behind him, the sooty black smoke hadn't quite thinned yet but the damage was already evident. The street looked as though someone had tried to tear it apart at the seams; huge piles of rubble replaced what was previously a smooth tarmac road. Good luck to the ministry trying to explain this one Sirius thought dryly.
A small cry broke the eerie silence and the air gradually filled with the voices of screaming, crying people.
Sirius just stood there, not hearing the roar of noise behind him. His gaze fell on the black grate through which Peter, Sirius' only chance of survival, had led. On the ground near it was a finger, Peter's finger. He wasn't as stupid as he looked, thought Sirius bitterly. Not surprising really, it was theoretically impossible for anyone to be that thick.
Sirius smiled wearily, he was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of living. You spend all your life trying to stand up for what you believe is right, and no one cares. The ministry of magic were going to lock him up in Azkaban without a second thought and Peter, the lying, traitorous rat had escaped scot-free; and that my friend, said a little voice in his head, is life.
He saw a group of horrified looking wizards at the other end of the street, some of them were looking at him, the expressions on their faces were not very friendly to put it lightly. Sirius' smile broke into a low chuckle and then he was laughing like a mad man. He laughed at the irony of it all, because he was going to Azkaban, because he was going there for the one thing he had been avoiding all his life. He laughed because his mother would probably be proud of him now, he laughed because he'd hit rock bottom and was digging even further, he laughed because the world had thrown what it could at him and he was still standing and he laughed because, where he was going, laughter didn't exist and he wanted to remember this moment forever, he wouldn't let himself forget what happiness felt like. He couldn't, his sanity depended on it.
As the ministry officials lead him away, he looked unseeingly at street around him, the broken pavement, the shattered windows of the shops and the dead bodies of muggles who had got in the way; Peter's doing, it was all Peter's doing, but it was his fault. His insane laughter stopped for a moment; he should have stopped him, he'd let James and Lily down, he'd let Harry down - but at least Harry was safe. Peter couldn't do anything now, he was dead to the world, a human trapped inside a rat's body. He wouldn't be able to do any more harm, at least not yet.
As the officials tied his hand behind his back, he thought about Peter, down in the sewers with the rest of his kind and suddenly, the notion of Peter, scurrying about in human excrement with a missing toe, seemed incredibly funny and he started laughing again.
The officials looked at him as though he was mad; well, he thought humorously, soon, I will be.
Deep below muggle London, a rat sat in the dark sewer, nursing a maimed front paw. It flinched as squeakings and scufflings echoed menacingly in the endless shadow filled tunnels. Silently it stared in to the gloomy pungent depths of the passage way and then turned and slunk quietly away.
A/N - There is still at least one more chapter to go so keep reviewing please. Thanx.